Gauteng survey shows water provision still a challenge

30th November 2018

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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A local ‘quality of life’ biennial survey has found that the reliable provision of water remains a challenge for residents in Gauteng.

While more than 90% of the Gauteng City Region Observatory (GCRO) survey respondents have piped water in their dwellings or on their premises, nearly a quarter of respondents, at 23%, experience water interruptions every week to a couple of times a month.

“Most residents of Gauteng have access to piped water. However, whether households are connected to the infrastructure networks or not is not the only issue. It is also essential that service provision is reliable and of a high quality,” says GCRO senior researcher Gillian Maree.

The GCRO 2017/18 survey is the fifth in a series of biennial surveys undertaken since 2009 to obtain insights into the lives and opinions of some 25 000 respondents across Gauteng. The survey identifies key areas needing intervention and groups needing support.

This year’s data highlights the challenges currently experienced in the maintenance of a reliable water infrastructure network.

“As water provision is managed at municipal level, the varying levels of reported interruptions by municipalities is noteworthy. Frequent water interruptions present serious risks to health and hygiene, and can affect economic development,” Maree highlights.

A major concern is Emfuleni, where over half of respondents report water supply interruptions multiple times a month.

The Emfuleni municipality is also currently the focus of a South African Human Rights Commission inquiry into claims of water pollution in the Vaal river.

However, there is evidence of improvements in access to water in Merafong, Lesedi and Rand West, and a clear improvement in water, sanitation and electricity in Midvaal, where over half the respondents say they never experience water interruptions.

An emerging trend is the challenge of water provision to township areas, where populations outstrip the number of users the infrastructure was built for.

The report also compares Sandton, where two-thirds (67%) never experience water interruptions, with Soweto, where only a third (32%) never see their water interrupted.

However, the overall quality of life in the province continues to improve, despite high levels of population and household growth amid very challenging economic conditions, says GCRO executive director Rob Moore.

Adequate sanitation and electricity for lighting, along with water access, has remained constant, at above 90%, across all five of the GCRO’s Quality of Life surveys.

“This tells us that government is broadly keeping pace with increases in demand for service connections. However, there are signs that the provision of services has deteriorated significantly in some municipalities, while delivery has improved in others,” he says.

“In important [service] areas [such as the] cost of municipal services, billing and waste, the province as a whole has seen big declines in resident satisfaction. “This includes declines in satisfaction with costs of services and billing in Johannesburg and Tshwane.”

Ekurhuleni is outperforming the other metropolitans on most service measures and Johannesburg has marginally improved in many service areas, while smaller municipalities like Lesedi and Midvaal have also improved since the last survey in 2015/16.

However, overall, refuse removal rates are much lower, at 83% in 2017/18.

Emfuleni has seen significant declines in the area of refuse collection, and satisfaction with the municipality is down, with only 57% of respondents now reporting weekly refuse removal, compared with 80% in the last survey.

GCRO researcher Christian Hamann says: “There has been a significant overall decline in waste service provision in Emfuleni. However, in almost all municipalities, lower proportions of respondents now report weekly collection, especially in informal settlements.”

Access to all basic services has also dropped in Tshwane.

“The 2017/18 data does reveal a substantial drop in those respondents saying they had weekly municipal refuse collection. While 88% of respondents reported weekly refuse collection in 2015/16, this has dropped to 83% in 2017/18,” he explains.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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